6. In Part 3 of our lab, how did overfishing (a biotic factor) increase the growth of the whale population? How did the viral infection of the whales (another biotic factor) increase the growth of the seal population?

Question

6.	In Part 3 of our lab, how did overfishing (a biotic factor) increase the growth of the whale population? How did the viral infection of the whales (another biotic factor) increase the growth of the seal population?

ookawaiioo · Answer

Depends on the whale species. Lets say its the blue whale or any whales that feed on plankton. There are going to be other fish feeding on plankton too. So the whales are in competition for the same food type. If you remove the whales competitors, the whales are more likely to survive from the abundant of food. 

We have all seen the killer whales eating seal on youtube or tv. The whale is consider the predator and it keeps the seal population constantly, assuming that growth rate is equal to death rate, by eating them. If the whales become infected with a virus and die, then the seals would be able to live longer and produce more babies without the worries of the killer whales.